How to Control Gestational Diabetes Naturally

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I was just talking to a mom this morning and she said that she was SO stressed she was worried it was making her gain weight –

Can you relate??

Being stressed can actually cause way more damage than just weight gain… It can actually cause physical symptoms too (from WebMD):

Low energy

Headaches

Upset stomach, including diarrhea, constipation, and nausea

Aches, pains, and tense muscles

Chest pain and rapid heartbeat

Insomnia

Frequent colds and infections

Loss of sexual desire and/or ability

Nervousness and shaking, ringing in the ear, cold or sweaty hands and feet

Dry mouth and difficulty swallowing

Clenched jaw and grinding teeth

Is there anything we can do to reduce stress naturally?

There are some environmental changes you can make. You can try to try relaxation exercises or just reduce your daily schedule. But what if there was a natural supplement you could take to help you cope with your physical and mental stress??read more

I’m so glad I knew about this and how I was able to manage my hormones naturally.

Watch my video to learn more:

I started using Estro-Rhythm and within THREE days I could tell a HUGE difference. My night sweats had stopped and I was beginning to feel normal again.

What is Estro Rhythm?

Estro Rhythm is the world’s first naturally based, single-use daily system for menopausal symptoms. Its superior formulation uses ingredients to help you get your rhythm back without the worries associated with synthetic solutions.read more

The secret to REACHING your New Years Goals to to make small changes in your daily life.

If you change your daily habits, you can change your life!!

Based on a recent study, on average it takes more than 2 months before a new behavior becomes automatic — 66 days to be exact.

There is no reason to get down on yourself if you try something for a few weeks and it doesn’t become a habit. It’s supposed to take longer than that! (This is why Most people give up on their New Years resolutions by Valentine’s Day)read more

I used to avoid buying from home based businesses (many of which were MLM’s as I would call them). I didn’t understand them… and what I was exposed to was lots and lots of really bad marketing that did more to turn me off than to get me interested.

This is so bad… but I remember there was a product I was interested in… and I searched for a way to order it so I wouldn’t have to order it through an MLM company. I also have to add that I’m a huge introvert and honestly try to avoid going to any party lolread more

7) Set 3 Short Term Goals and 3 Long Term Goals.

Do you have any good starter tips for people who want to be healthier?

Share them with us!

Author’s Note: I’m excited to have a guest post from my husband Adam Parker today! I think he has another perspective on how we built our business since we was working outside the home when we first got started. Enjoy!

A few years ago I read a blog about working from home. It was about this guy who built a business where he was able to travel around the world and and still “show up for work”. For the life of me, I can’t find that blog post, I wish I could and thank that blogger.

When I read it, I was working full time as an Engineer with VERY limited vacation options. Although I liked my job (but didn’t love it) I really desired to be free to travel places, to show my girls the world around them, and experience it all! I didn’t want to wait until I was 65 and on a pension before I had the freedom to go places when I wanted to go!

That really spoke to me, could we really do that? See all these places we wanted to go, and still build a business?

So we made that our goal, to build a business not limited by what area of town we lived in, how much money we had to put into a building, or any other of the typical limitations. That spoke to me in so many ways.

This wasn’t something that we could build overnight. We knew it was going to take time, but we were excited to work on that goal and dream of our future freedom together.

Now that we have that freedom, what did it take and what were the steps to get there?

We started an online business.

About two years ago, we did something completely crazy. We started a home based business with a global online store. With no background in business or marketing we started building this business and learning as we went.

We jumped in head first and really didn’t look back. We spent any free time we did have working on our business and working to build it up from scratch. We personally used the power of social media. We liked it because that was where all our friends were hanging out anyways (Facebook is the new mall.) Plus, we always had our phones or iPads with us to be able to work from anywhere.

We set Big Goals

We didn’t just start a business with no clear path in mind… we started a business with a clear goal that we wanted to reach. We were determined and tenacious with our goal and I think that was one factor in actually reaching it.

Our goal was to be able to make enough for both of us to work our home based business full time and have complete freedom of our time and location.

We learned what we needed

I think one thing that was crucial for us was that both of us are lifelong learners. We love a challenge and we love learning new skills. Owning a business wasn’t something we had ever done before, so it was important to invest in ourselves to learn new skills and how to actually build an online business.

How is this possible?

1) We do require WiFi… so we usually check before hand if WiFi is available.

We say with WiFi and a Dream, anything is possible.

2) We like to travel, so many of our trips include visiting our team members and bringing the girls with us.

3) The home business we chose isn’t a “party” based business (i.e. private home product showings), so that allows us to design our business the way we want. If that means talking over social media, or making a phone call to talk – anything is possible as long as you have your phone and computer with you.

4) Our main goal is connect with customers and help them reach their goals – Many people are familiar with ordering online and we just make recommendations to help them with their choices as they are looking for solutions to their problems.

If you could work from anywhere, where would your office be?

Does this sound like something you may be interested in? Read more about how you can start a business that you can work from anywhere.

When Adam and I were married (12 years ago on this May 28th), I was 19 and he was 21 O.o

We were in love <3

We met when I was a junior in high school and he was a sophomore in college. We started dating and one year later (right after I graduated from high school) we were engaged.

I’m sure from the outside… we looked CRAZY!!

We had about 11 months to plan our wedding and it was still the most stressful thing for me.

I already shared about it raining on our wedding day, so obviously even with all the planning you can’t control everything!

I WISHED that I had known some ways to stay calm and reduce the stress of planning that big day.

Yoga

When I get stressed now, I do a few yoga stretches and deep breathing. That practice helps me to calm all those racing thoughts and helps me focus on what I need to accomplish right now.

There are apps for your phone you can download to coach you through different relaxing stretches or you can do a search for a good routine. That way you can stop and do some stretches at any point when you feel that stressful tension come over you.

Plan

I am a planner at heart… and I know that some people who are not may get MORE stressed out with a plan. I like to have a super short list to follow – maybe 3-6 things you need to accomplish the next day.

The night before, write down your 3-6 action steps for the next day. When you wake up, you know EXACTLY what you need to focus on. Plus, you can feel accomplished at the end of the day when you can mark everything off your list. Smaller lists keeps your stress levels down and checking things off is the best feeling ever.

I also bought a few wedding planner books online to help stay organized as we booked everything for the big day. It also was a place to keep ideas that I wanted to refer to when talking to the different services I was hiring.

Hire help

If you can afford a wedding planner, Do it. You can give them general ideas for what you want to experience on the big day… and then they can do some of the harder jobs like calling venues and providers. Sometimes a close friend who has great connections or someone who just got married can be a great asset.

My mom was amazing for helping me plan our wedding. She knew so much from helping plan my sister’s wedding (and even learned some what not to do’s as well). Even though she wasn’t “hired, ” she was an amazing partner.

Laugh

Remember to laugh along the way. Your marriage is super important – and you should take that seriously, but don’t forget that you don’t have to take yourself too seriously.

Laugh when you have bumps along the way in your wedding planning… which everyone has! Laugh when things don’t go perfectly – because they won’t!

Take care of you

Stay active (goes along with Yoga) but exercise in general is a great way to reduce stress. Make it a way to connect with your future spouse. Go hiking, bike riding, take up a sport, go on a walk – use this time to connect on a different level.

Don’t forget to Pamper yourself. Book a day at the spa to treat yourself and get a massage. I carry so much tension in my shoulders and back, so it is on my must do list when I have a lot of stressful events in my life.

For more tips on how I stay stress-free check out my two favorite products Here and Here.

What are your best tips on how to manage stress when planning a wedding?

Growing you own food is such an empowering process. To be able to say “I grew that!” can bring up so much pride and accomplishment in kids. Here are some more reasons why your kids should be gardening:

Introduces New Foods

When kids are able to see where their food comes from and had a part in the process, they are much more likely to try is as a new food. New foods can be scary to kids. When they are able to see and have a part in growing a new food, they are much more willing to try it at the dinner table.

Funways to get them involved from the very beginning.

You can go to the library and look at some gardening books to get ideas of what to plant. Encourage your child to learn the best conditions needed for growing that food. You can even help your child make a map of your garden.

My daughter loves watering plants. We bought her a kid sized gardening set with a water pitcher and shovel, so she can help us plant and take care of our little garden.

Use a Garden as a Teaching Tool

As a mom with a background in speech therapy, I love using themes to encourage learning in various way on a single topic.

From counting plants to sorting and organizing (even figuring out how much it cost) – you can bring math to life with a garden.

From the life cycle of a plant, to pollination, to eco-systems, there is so much you can learn about science from growing a garden.

I loved learning about Thomas Jefferson and his record keeping about growing his farm on Monticello when we visited last fall. You can find another historical figure who was known for their gardening. Or visit an active local farm for a field trip.

Making a map of your garden is a way to learn about maps and using maps for finding your way in a space.

Making list, keeping records, writing a short story about a bug or plant in your garden would be a very fun and creative Language Arts activity.

In addition to learning about gardening, kids will also learn about responsibility. When kids are able to learn how to water and care of their plants which helps them understand some responsibility. Which is a powerful life lesson in itself.

I hope this encourages you to plant a small garden with your kids to help them understand the value of sustainability and importance of growing our own food.

On the day he passed away, we were driving across the country to get to his side. It was the darkest day of my life. When I realized that I wouldn’t get to see him again, and it was his time to go… this is what I wrote. I hope you can see how much of a difference this little boy made in my life.

Today we celebrate your adventure, Joshua.

When we first met you, we all gathered together to say ‘Hello, Welcome to our family!!’

We celebrated big milestones like reaching 10 pounds!! That was such a huge goal and once you reached it, you never stopped growing.

We celebrated birthdays together. 13 years, Josh!!

We celebrated new siblings together!! You grew into the best big brother too. So patient when everyone wanted to crawl over you or hang on your wheelchair.

We celebrated new houses together. You moved a lot!! You travelled all over the place in an RV for 9 months!?! What a story you have to tell!

And today…

I can’t imagine the adventure!!

You get to leave your wheelchair behind, bud. You don’t need that anymore!

All the hugs from everyone who have gone on before you! I know you are going to be quick to show off your new legs.

I bet Paw Paw will throw a ball and Nonna will cheer you on the loudest when you run to catch it.

The music, Josh… I’m sure your ears have never heard a sweeter tune. You love music so much.

We miss you. We miss your smile. We miss your laugh.

I know that we will see you soon. This is not goodbye. We gather together today to say ‘See you later.’

Adam and I love to travel! In our first five years of marriage, we had traveled to New York, Hong Kong, Paris, Rome, San Antonio, Atlanta, New Orleans… we LOVED every minute of it!

(I was actually pregnant when we were in Paris)

So when we became parents… we had to decide should we still travel??? (or could we???)

We didn’t have a lot of vacation days to work with, and we didn’t have a lot of disposable income either. But it really was something that we wanted to do more of and experience with our girls, it was a question of how we coulddo that.

The “how” turned out to be starting our own home based business that we could run from anywhere. Our business gave us the financial and time freedom to be able to travel like we always desired.read more